Adam Jacobs, Co-Founder, Hatch

Hatch is an Australian startup that matches university students to jobs. At the start of Covid-19, we saw an opportunity to rapidly redeploy stood down workers within Australian employers using our matching technology, based on their transferable skills.

I mentioned the idea to Warren Davis from J.P. Morgan, one of our customers, and immediately he and the firm sprung to action activating their network. Within a week over 50 Australian employers had joined the Covid-19 Hatch Exchange from Qantas to Country Road Group to Marriot Group, representing 100k+ stood down workers. A week later we had already redeployed the first 150 workers.

The support from J.P. Morgan was breathtaking. They saw the opportunity to help impacted workers and brought countless ASX100 Directors and CEOs and Government leaders to the initiative, asking for no media recognition.

I recall one early April Saturday where Warren and I spoke more than ten times, coordinating the business community. I kept thanking him, and he kept saying no thanks it’s just the right thing to do.

To date, over 1,500 stood-down workers have been placed in new jobs they wouldn’t have accessed. Like a Virgin Airline pilot who within days was managing a Government contact centre. 

Our ability to provide an economic lifeline to the many Australians affected by Covid-19 was only possible because of the altruistic vision and speed role of the J.P. Morgan team.